Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-12-09
AGRICULTURAL,
What Push aud Enterprise viii do to
Wnkc II ~ Success.
rEPVONT FiRlfING

What Push aud Enterprise will do to
Wake u " Success.
= DESCRIPTION or SOME of run PRACTICAL
RESULTS ACCOMPLISHED NY cONGHEsSMAN
CIRCUIT oN THE Old HOME FARM ~ Kirby
About 1879 Gen. Circuit purchased the
old Circuit farm. So called. situated in the
extreme southeastern part of Kirby, on
the road leading from st. Johnsbury to
West Concord The farm was originally
settled by Theophilus Circuit, Gen. CIRCUITS
grandfather, in li02. aud, we believe, has
been in the family ever since It formerly
consisted Of 300 acres, more or less. and
was long considered one of the hest among
number of good farms on Moose river
The land lies along the north side of the
river and extends back towards the sum
init uf high range Of hills. which protect
this farm and vicinity somewhat from the
cold wind Of the north and west The
farm at present contains $50 acres. consid-
cradle having been bought on since Gen.
Circuit took possession of it, The rock for.
nation is of a slate character, and i'm the
high pasture lands the lodges project out Of
the ground, and at some points are some
what PERCEPTIONS At present there are
- acres in NOV field and tillage, the bal
ance in pasture and wool land Twenty
five or thirty acres lie along the river and
between that and the road. This is not on
the river level, and is not subject to spring
or freshet overflows of the river The
whole territory is underlaid with IA hard
substratum Of clayey nature, through
which little water can pass. Before any
undertaking was resorted to, here and
there, all along ON the side hills-the land
slopes considerably towards the river--wa-
ter made out, and there was considerable
of the area that was wet, heavy and not
considered fit for tillage. The wet patches
had not been ploughed and were practically
useless. Here and there, all about. were
ravines not deep, where the water found
its way down from the hill slopes to more
level grounds below, much to the injury of
the grass crop, and to the ruin of not "A little
Of the enclosed NOV fields The soil is nat
urally good and the situation favorable for
the growing of the heavy crops.
When Gen. Circuit took the place it was
considerably in run down state, though
not run out The barns were old, the
fences were not adequate, many acres were
growing up to bushes, the water was doing
injury TO the land, and there was much the
same condition of affairs that exists in
many localities, where the old system of
farming has been adhered to from choice
or necessity. Among the first things un-
dertaken by the purchaser was the disposal
Of the surplus water. A system of ditch
ing and under draining was projected and
work laid out on a comprehensive scale.
Many Of the surface stone though the land
was not very stony, lay upon the ground,
or had been piled into numerous stone walls
that had been run as fences over the farm
The larger ravines and the wetter places
were attacked first. Deep bitches were
dug and the stone We're buried, and large
water mains run, into which smaller tile
and stone drains poured their contents. 1t
is surprising what quantities of water, alb
solutely so much that it can be heard pour
ing through the stone ways like brooks in
different localities. is drawn away from
places where little or no surplus water was
seen The undulating and sopng condi-
tiom of the surface is such that it is well
adapted to stone on tile draining. The
work has gone on until it is nearly com
pleted-a year or two more will finish it
and until nearly every rod is dry, tillable
and productive the stones buried out of
sight. the rough places ,moothed down. the
wet places reclaimed and the whole area.
nearly, put in condition for tillage. and
in a remarkably productive state The ex-
pense of the stone draining has been heavy,
much heavier accordingly than the tile
draining in the cost of ditching and stone
drawing.
The next most expensive improvement
was the erection of set of barns. sheds,
etc, which should be suitable and adeuuate
Tor the requirements of the farm. as it was
expected to he under proper development.
This work was done in 1871 The old
barns such as could he proitably utilized.
were repaired, moved to IA proper position,
with reference to the large structure. sheds
were built between, and the whole put in
To system Of barns, stables, etc The
larger barn built new was l2OX5O. with 30
feet addition, which was narrower and
contained the driveway to the high hay
floor, \ wing was turned along the road
for ii horse barn, carriage house, etc The
whole was planned with reference to two
principles convenience and the saving Of
the fodder and the manure The big barn
is three stories high. The basement con
tans manure vault in one side and one
end, long stable beside the manure room,
and space used for silo purposes. Be
meath the lower stable in which steers,
oxen, bulls, etc, are housed, the ground is
cemented, and the liquid manure runs intoa
rlstern from which it is pumped on to the
manure which falls from the upper stables
The whole surface upon which the manure
falls from any stable is cemented Near
the middle of the barnyard is an under
ground cistern into which all the water of
the yard runs, to find its way by drain
pipes to the lowlands beyond. This liquid
manures quite IA large area, and spouts will
be hereafter used to run it over larger
space. The manure from the horse barn
falls into basement where large drove
of pigs work ON it. SO great has become
the quantity made and so strong is it in en-
riching qualities that there is an abundance
of manure for all the purposes to which it
now can be well applied. The estimated
quantity drawn to the fields last year was
1000 loads, and there are hundreds of loads
now that must be got out to make room for
what will accumulate through the winter
The second story is used for the COW stables,
where there Is room to tie 10 cows. In the
rear of the animals is room and conven-
fences for putting in bedding In front
there are places where the hay falls from
above, or is pitched from the bay, which
comes down ON one side to the floor. There
are also some bins and meal rooms on this
floor. All stables have ventilatoIs running
up into the cupoa and the whole building
IS thoroughly ventilated by windows and
ventilators, The ties are chains, with sep
arate cribs for each animal 1t is proposed
To change the ties soon 10 the swing stan
chlons. There is a boiler apparatus in con-
nection, where steam is generated, which |
passes to a large box in which the hay fed
to the cows, having been previously cut by |
horse power cutter, is steamed or cooked I
the meal, whenever it is used, being mixed
and steamed with it, GEN Circuit believes
that this is a money saving apparatus.
though it is considerable work to run it.
The COWS are fed rations of steamed feed
and of silage the ensiage once a day.
The big siloS have a raDapitv nr 9OO tou.